One of the hardest struggles is knowing what God is telling you to do/when God is saying to stay and when He is saying to move.
Not knowing is this God, is this family pressure, yourself.
Fasting and praying and still not hearing clearly from God while you are in the will and the way of God—about what He wants you to do/where He wants you to go.
• Let me say—if you are not walking in the will of God you need to understand that God is not ever going to raise His voice.
• If you are not close enough to God to hear Him whisper, then you will always be wandering in the middle of nowhere.
• Because God is only speaking to those that are close enough.
God doesn’t have to raise His voice to talk to the people that He wants to talk to. NO. God says that IF YOU’RE REALLY INTERESTED IN HEARING FROM ME, NOW, YOU MUST MOVE EVERYTHING, EVERY ENCUMBERANCE, EVERYTHING THAT’S NOT LIKE ME OUT OF THE WAY.
HEBREWS 12
Ill.—Parallel between the world of physical fitness and the spiritual realm. (God and the Gym)
• Position
• Consistency
So the first thing I’ve got to do is get everything out of my life that might be blocking me from hearing God.
• You need to serve an eviction notice on a lot of stuff in your life/everything that doesn’t please God/doesn’t honor God/hindering your being properly aligned with the Spirit of God.
• You can’t bring treasure in until to take the trash out.
• God can’t bless no mess. And to ask God to bless this or that before the weights are removed invalidates the promise of Him moving on behalf of those who will seek His face. And to expect God to bless that is like throwing fertilizer, dirt and water on concrete and expecting grass to grow. It won’t work!
• This may seem radical—but don’t you know that there is some stuff that God has to do?
Now once I’ve alleviated and evicted every encumbrance—then I can move to the fact that maybe this just might be a test.
After I’ve removed all of the stuff that doesn’t please my father out of my way, life and path…why am I not hearing God as I think I should?
And I had to ask myself why is it that God would let me be that close to Him and still not tell me exactly what it is He wants me to do. It is because every now and then God will set you up for a faith move.
Tell you neighbor : THIS IS A FAITH MOVE
A faith move is when you don’t know exactly, specifically, precisely what the Lord is saying—but you know the Lord is saying “JUST START WALKING AND I’LL SHOW YOU ON THE WAY”.
And there are times, moments and instances where God will not tell you in detail exactly what He wants you to do—but He’s going to see if you will trust Him enough just to move.
• God is not just always going to give you the exact directions as to where you are going or where He is taking you. Sometimes God will just say “Start walking”.
GENESIS 12
Come here Abraham. Sure I will Brother Pullam. God told me in the 12th chapter of Genesis to get away from my kindred and my acquaintances to a land I will show you. If you leave your family ‘I will bless you; I will make you a blessing; I will cause others to bless you.” Now wait a minute—where am I going God? He says “I’ll tell you while you are on the way!”. And so Abraham just has to leave his comfort zone.
Here are, in the text, children of Israel. Where are they at?
They just left bondage. They are on their way to Canaan. They have left prison Promise.
Wait a minute—they left where they were; but they have not arrived where they are going.
I wonder where that puts them? Well, according to my calculations—that puts them IN BETWEEN.
I’m just trying to figure out where all my in between folk are in here.
• Between a rock and a hard place
• Between shooting the dog and kicking the cat
• Between going postal and committing suicide
• Between being sick and being healed
• Between leaving the career and starting the business
• Between healing from the old relationship and finding peace in the new relationship
• Between the habit and the addiction and finding NEW LIFE, NEW JOY, NEW PEACE, NEW HOPE.
• Between losing the job and still giving to God out of your sacrifice
• Between being dissatisfied and discontent with Rev. Flip Flop and Muddy Streak B.C. and your new life at Cornerstone
See, you’re looking at me strange and funny like you are already in Canaan—True…you are not back in Egypt—but don’t front—you’ve not yet made it to Canaan.
- Those who think you are standing better beware lest you fall.
Look at your neighbor and say: I’m in Between right now!
• I’m in between already and not yet
• What I used to be and what I’m gonna be
• Lack and Ultimate Prosperity
• Catching the Bus and driving my dream car
• The projects and my dream house
Is there anybody in here, who can testify “Preacher, I’m just in between.”
I MAY BE BLACK…I MAY BE UGLY…BUT I’M STILL HERE
I have not arrive; but I did leave where I was
• I’m tired of Christians who act like they’ve already arrived.
- They can critique the church, preacher, choir, ushers—the Holy Ghost has give them a complete download on God’s chief operation because they are the epitome of perfection personified.
But if I sent a private detective to your house, they will investigate you and conclude that you’re still in between.
I don’t care how much you speak in tongues/much money you make/side of town you live on/much you act life you already made it—if it had not been for the grace of God your stuff would vanish.
DEUTERONOMY 8
There are some areas of your life that we would discover that you are still in between.
I AM IN PROCESS!!! I’m in between
In between what? They are in between bondage and the promised land. That’s a funny and difficult, precarious place to be in when God’s got you in between.
They had left bondage; but they still had a slave mentality. They had been down so long until they now have to adjust to standing up. They had been miserable so long—until happiness was foreign to them.
- I’m looking at somebody who’s been in so many jacked up relationships for so long, that when somebody finally crosses your path who is halfway decent you be like—“I don’t know…you’re probably gay, ain’t you? You used to be a man, didn’t you? You’re married, aren’t you?
- Somebody here knows that you were broke so long that when you finally got some money you were scared to buy something. You was in your house like “wait a minute—we got 2 bathrooms? Let’s just all use this bathroom so the other one don’t break. ‘Cause I don’t know.
But God has sent me here on an assignment—God told me to tell you that you’ve got to adjust to YOUR NEW SEASON.
Would you tell your neighbor: THIS IS YOUR NEW SEASON!
• Forget that bondage back there /negativity back there
It’s a new time now. If God’s sends somebody new in your life—snap your fingers and say “It’s my time!”
• It’s a new time in my relationships, friendships…
Yes—I had to make the adjustment, I won’t lie. Whey you’re struggling half of your life—and after you’ve been faithful—
You’ll be driving your car feeling guilty. But God told me to remind you (for those who are either in your season or when you get to your new season) remember this—they didn’t do what you did.
• Therefore you ought not let haters get mad about what God gave you and did for you.
- I’m going to build my house
- Receive my healing
- Enjoy my new marriage
- Drive my car
- Spend my money
Because you don’t know the things I had to go through to build this house, get my healing, get this new car.
No I am not going to feel bad because you ain’t got my stuff—you’ve got to adjust.
(This doesn’t have your name on it.)
• What God has for me is for me
My wife and I decided not long ago that we are blessed to be a blessing—but we are going to enjoy everything God gives to us.
God told me to tell you—you don’t have to walk around feeling guilty and ashamed about folk that are mad at you because they ain’t got your stuff.
• You’ve been praying/fasting/worked hard/finished college/went to school at night and had to get babysitters for your kids/you had to sale everything you had to open up the business—and now that you got a little piece of something—and others try to make you feel bad—because they are stuck in neutral and you are on your way—you can’t feel bad because you left Egypt and they want to stay in Egypt in their comfort zone.
Egypt, now, was bondage; but it was comfortable.
Egypt, now, was bondage; but you did have a place to sleep/you were guaranteed three meals a day.
Now they’ve got to leave bondage and take a chance!
Up ahead in uncertainty—but God is up there.
Back there in comfort—but you’re in bondage.
(Ex.—people say you can’t leave me because we go half on the rent….tell them—God will pay the other half)
Now God raises up Moses and says : MOSES—I NEED YOU TO HELP THEM GET OUT OF BONDAGE. AND HELP THEM TO FLOW IN A NEW DIMENSION. MOSES, YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE THE HARDEST PASTORAGE OF ALL TIME—BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THE THINKING OF PEOPLE WHO’VE BEEN IN BONDAGE FOR SO LONG.
• See, most people miss exodus (exit/way out), because they think about themselves physically leaving.
- Them physically leaving was easy! Their struggle was to bring their minds with them.
- Leaving physically was not the issue; it was changing how they thought.
One Philosopher says this: Take a group of people and demoralize them and their thinking; and you won’t have to keep them down; they’ll keep themselves down.
Look at us—hundreds of years removed from slavery. But yet, for the most part…there is a slave mentality within our culture. Because even though we’re been emancipated—most of the people have been in bondage in their thinking. So they settle for any kind of brother; they settle for a sister who can shake it fast and drop it like it’s hot.
So Moses is dealing with a group of people who have a faulty mindset. (Left Egypt; but Egypt hadn’t left them) But God says, ‘You’re free now”…Come on! New Season!
God says, “Here’s what I’m going to do—I’m going to be a cloud in the daytime & a pillar of fire by night. I’m going to clothe myself in the cloud.
Don’t miss this—because most people preach this wrong. It was not a cloud and fire (plural). It was a singular cloud that turned into fire.
It was NOT a cloud and a pillar of fire. It was a cloud that turned INTO fire.
• You’ve been watching two sources too long!
God says “I may come in different ways but it’s still me. Sometimes I deal with you in the night one way; and the daytime of your life in another way. But it’s still me.
And your problem is you’ve been looking to 2 sources. Me and your man; me and your family; me and your job. God says: NO…IT’S ME! SOMETIMES I’M YOUR JOB; SOMETIMES I’M YOUR MUTUAL FUNDS—BUT IT’S ME!
Ya’ll are missing this: No matter how you got your blessing—it was God that gave it to you!
God can bless you through your job/somebody else/stranger/put a check in the mail you didn’t deserve or expect/give you a house with bad credit. BUT IT’S STILL GOD!
When Aaron moves—MOVE. (I’m going to be a cloud in the daytime and fire at night)
Here’s how it’s going to work—the cloud moves…you move. Pillar of fire…move.
Illustration—So they would be walking with the cloud (millions of them—probably about 3 million). The cloud stopped—they unpack; take your bed out; get a job, get some food, chill. Then all of a sudden they are cooking, washing clothes (looking up)….time to roll.
Sometimes in the middle of the night the pillar of fire would start moving. 3 in the morning they had to pack. “Wake up, ya’ll—the fire’s moving.”
MOVING WHERE??? Where He wanted to!!!
Can I preach to somebody—because God never said where He was going (or maybe He did but didn’t tell you how you would get there)—as a matter of fact He took them the wrong way. Not the wrong way in the Spirit; but the wrong way in the natural.
• Because what looks wrong to man; may be right to God!
• You’ve got to understand that the shortest route to the land of Canaan was through the territory of the Philistines—in the direction of Beersheba. That was the shortest route to where they were going.
But the route chosen by God was southeast towards Sinai. Why? To avoid possible militaristic confrontation with the Egyptians. Because that would encourage people with shallow minds and tunnel vision to go back.
(That’s why I stopped crying about people who left me early on in my life—and who walked away)
• I just need some people to thank God for what you missed…
You always thank God for what He brought you out of; but every now and then you ought to thank God for the stuff He way that you never even met.
• You ought to thank God for the brother that you would have flirted with/married, had a baby with. But God shielded you from that brother coming toward you because God knew you would have yielded to that.
Is there anybody who can thank God not just for what you went through—but the trouble that you avoided because He shielded you.
• You don’t know the accident you were supposed to be in. (There was going to be a massive crash on that freeway; and God had you wake up early and directed you not to take the beltway today—and then you saw on the news that somebody died on the same street you normally drive home on—but God let you go around some people/stuff/situation. Because He knew you couldn’t handle it.
(It’s not that God didn’t love the one that was killed but that He just wasn’t through with you yet.)
• Is there anybody here who knows that some of the things that you had been through somebody else would have lost their natural mind?
